Young Tyrone musician makes history at All-Ireland Fleadh

A TRILLICK musician who is the first Tyrone woman and only the second person from the North to win first place in the All-Ireland Fleadh playing the Concertina has spoken of what she has described as ‘the best day of her life’.

Erin Whitley, aged 21, who is currently studying a Masters Degree in Microbiology at Queen’s University, Belfast, celebrated her great success in Wexford on August 10.

The talented Tyrone musician said that winning the All-Ireland Fleadh at a senior level had been a dream of hers since a young age.

“Before playing the concertina, I attended Monday night music classes at the Bawnacre Centre with Brenda McCann in Irvinestown,” said Erin.

“Initially, I was playing the tin whistle, but Brenda recognised my interest in the concertina and it wasn’t long until my parents bought me my first one, and it all kicked off from there.”

Since the age of six, Erin has been attending fleadhs regularly with her brothers and sisters all over Ireland and has been competing since childhood.

Over the years, she has also played with orchestras and attended numerous sessions and various workshops.

Having taken first place in the Tyrone Fleadh and second place Ulster Fleah ahead of her success at the All-Ireland competition, Erin also reflected on a somewhat full circle moment.

“When I go the trophy, I noticed the first name on it was Ciaran Hanna from Coalisland,” she explained. “He was my teacher for a very long time and to this day, I still learn a lot from him.”

Reflecting on her performance on the day of the final, Erin said she played four tunes – a jig, a hornpipe, a slow piece, and a reel.

“I was up there for ten minutes,” she recalled. “I’m usually very nervous when it comes to these competition but this year I was surprisingly calm.

“One thing I did notice was that on the list of competitors on the day, I was number 13 on the list, which is usually seen by most as an unlucky number, but it was clearly lucky for me.”

Upon hearing her name being announced as the winner, Erin said, “My mum and I just jumped out of our seats in complete disbelief and were both crying with excitement.

“There were even people there who didn’t know me who were cheering me on and getting emotional.”

Erin is now looking for to making further progress in teaching and performing. Having recently formed the band ‘Mad As Folk’ with James McShane following a tour of Italy last year, she said she hopes to continue gigging and wants to release an album soon.

Aside from competing and performing, the Tyrone musician has recently spent time volunteering at this years Belfast TradFest and is looking forward to teaching a master class workshop in Cavan later this month.